Undertale: Life Beyond the Ground
by LivingSplice
Summary: But today, all the laboratory employees were buzzing in excitement, gathering around boss outside the cafeteria; he was carrying a new shipment of samples, but what warranted such an enthusiastic reaction by all the employees? You walked closer, when he opened the box a soft blue glow emitted from inside.
**A.N:** Hey guys!

...

I legit had a dream...

...last night involving some comical situation with going to a fancy restaurant as someone who just recently came out of college and came across with decent income. Omg; for you all (and for myself), I spent way too much time writing this up. XD The jokes with Sans is inspired by a silly conversation with CreativeConcept.

Idk if I will write more. If I get another dream-inspired idea...or just want to work more on it. I will. Otherwise, nah, probably a one shot.

P.O.V: you. First person writing. Reader is female (sorry for those who are not...just uh, change your genitals then your all good). Reader is not Frisk

Thanks for reading!

:)

* * *

 **Chapter 1- New Day, New Life**

* * *

You were a recent college graduate. Having gotten your Master's in Biology, you landed a nice job in a reputable and innovative company inside their laboratory department...as a laboratory assistant. Like any new graduate, landing the job of your dreams without experience meant getting a job that was not up to your anticipated standards, skills or expectation. You wanted to be an actual scientist, not an assistant, but it didn't really bother you, the job market was at an all low for hiring, so you supposed it was still a lucky break to get anything at all. You were just happy that this job had so many opportunities to grow as an individual.

The news played on at the work cafeteria, the media, was once again, covering the hot topic of Monsters. As you knew, last year an entire species came up from underground out of nowhere. Of course it was hard not to hear about it; being that humans were now not the only sentient beings in this universe, let alone this world. But at the time you were trying to focus on graduating, and getting a job and trying to get into the next chapter in your life without risk of starving and being in incredibly crippled debt...long story short, you really didn't know that much about monsters.

But today, all the laboratory employees were buzzing in excitement, gathering around boss outside the cafeteria; he was carrying a new shipment of samples, but what warranted such an enthusiastic reaction by all the employees? You walked closer, when he opened the box a soft blue glow emitted from inside.

"Listen up, today is a monumental small step for our science department. The Government tasked us to study these bioluminate foliage… or echo flowers as...they put it." He looked towards you, in his ever so sly smile, your heart skipped a beat.

"This is your lucky break, for now, we'll treat this as the same laboratory procedures for any foliage. If you find anything, which you will if you don't screw anything up, it could mean big things…"

Your boss was a sadistical asshole, but his japes were nothing new, they were also not to be taken seriously. Everyone gave a disappointing groan, they wanted to be the head lead for these studies, you, however, were terrified. Of course you were excited to have your hands on revolutionary studies, you're a scientist after all...well, lab assistant. But you never been tasked to be the head lead for any laboratory project! Sure there was research you have in your name back in college, but not without a huge pool of information streaming from your professor! You nodded apprehensively and looked down towards the flowers, each encased within a canister with an I.D. etched onto the glass. They were absolutely gorgeous! The way they softly emitted that glow, you never seen anything like it before. Your now brimming in excitement, your curiosity shadowing your fear.

"S-Sure thing...I-I will get started right away"

You said in a squeek, internally kicking yourself, you should sound way more confident than that.

You grabbed the box, walking away as a small team pooled around, following you like a lost, hungry, puppy. You shoved your way into your office locking the doors behind you (unusual for an lab assistant to have, but considering you had a master's degree; they gave you an office, it just meant they didn't have to pay you as much as an employed scientist). Leaning against the chair, you took a deep breath. Then convulsed in excitement squealing in delight. This was your big break, pull this off, and your research alone shall open so many doors. After you calmed down, the silence settled around you. "Well, time to leave, I got myself a date...with me!" You said in pride, but your ears perked ever so slightly. There was tiny muffled whispers, and you turned your head, thinking someone was outside your office. Nope. Then you looked down to the box of samples. Was there something in the box? You leaned down in your chair and picked up a canister, the echo flower was pulsating in it's light. "Fascinating." You quietly said to yourself, mesmerized by the foreign plant.

"Fascinating"

The plant said back.

…What?

"Eeek!"

You tossed the canister, it clinking onto your desk and rolling away. Soon the entire office was filled with muffled 'Eeeks' originating from the box and on your desk. This was all strange… then it dawned on you.

Echo Flowers.

'I guess now I know why you are called that.' A part of you strained, you hoped they stopped squealing; mimicking your last noise. Something about a flower screaming while being crushed and broken down (...giggle ;) ) by acid for analysis just didn't set well with you. But they all went quiet, their light now no longer vibrant but still softly glowing.

You got up from your chair, walking out and turning off the lights, throwing off your lab jacket and hanging it on the wall. It was time to leave, and you didn't want to waste any time. Tonight, you were treating yourself out; you made reservations at a very nice restaurant recommended by your boss a few weeks back.

Work had ended and you hurriedly rushed out of the laboratory and got into your beated-up little Volkswagen bug, given to you as a graduation present from your grandmother. You were about to leave when you noticed your boss walking up to your car and waving you down. You sighed, really hoping he wasn't going to have you do some calculations to work off-time. It wasn't even the weekend yet! You didn't mind working on calculations, you actually love doing your work. Helping great scientists in any way and working on the newest research was very exciting and you were proud of the work you did.

But he tapped at your window, and you sighed, plastering on a fake smile as you rolled down your window.

"What you need?' You asked as friendly as you could.

"So, you doing anything tonight?" Of course, you prepared yourself for the inevitable workload that he was going to pile on top of you. You really needed to learn how to stand up for yourself; you needed time to yourself, if only a little!

"W-Well...Actually I made plans tonight! I've made reservations to that place you suggested!" Good. You got this. He gave a smile; okay, here we go.

"Is that so! Oh I'm so glad you took my advice! Well, I don't want to hold you up any longer than necessary." What's he brewing inside that head of his…? "We'll need to set up a meeting regarding the Bioluminescent Foliage that you'll be working on. I understand this will be your very first real-job project. But do not worry, we of course, the lab-team of this esteemed company, will guide you on your way. You got this and you won't be alone! It's a very big deal as I know you are aware of. I'll see you tomorrow, meet me in my office, 8 sharp."

You nodded, apprehensive of the praise and support he was giving. But he waved you off, flipping his phone out and walking away and switching to the next agenda on his plans. The man might be an asshole, but he was a good guy, and always working. For him, his research and work was his world, it meant everything to him. You weren't sure if you ever seen him take a day off since you started working a few months back. Even on his days "off", he was hanging out at the laboratory; either tinkering away with his graduates inventions, reading the latest published research documents or pulling off pranks and giving his newest employees hell. Occasionally, he would bring in donuts and coffee. Those days you really appreciated.

But you drove off the grounds, you were excited because now you'll be treating yourself out for the first time in years. You heard of the relatively new and fancy restaurant that had opened up. "MTT Plaza and Fine Dining". It was the first time you were able to pay for your own expensive meal, and you were beaming with pride knowing you could afford it independently.

You rushed downtown, and entered your apartment. It was rundown, mold and mildew stained the corners of the walls. You could live somewhere nicer. But honestly you had too many bills racked up, and made the decision to live in a crummy studio apartment in the meantime while you pay off your college bills faster. Inside, you went to your dresser slipping on a sports bra, flats and a simple dress. The dress was cotton, light and frilly; a black canvas with small white flower prints all over it. It was your favorite dress and you owned it for years; it complemented your curves well without looking risque. Hard press to find in any dress that shown off your curves decently. You straightened your hair and applied eyeliner and mascara. You never really bothered learning how to do more in terms of makeup, especially since your life revolved around a job that required you not to wear makeup. It was a policy built in, because it could contaminate your work.

Simple. You thought, looking in the mirror, slipping on your college jacket and giving yourself a few final twirls. Nice but simple. Back in the car, you rushed to the location, it wasn't exactly downtown, still in the middle of the bustling city.

The entrance...it was magnificent!

The roads entering were cobbled stone, the sides fully decorated with an English-garden theme; flowers and trees were filled in an elegant manner. There was a spot you could stop and pull over before entering the establishment, which you did. You got out of the car and saw a labyrinth, the path had small white-pebbles that felt like a warm massage on your feet when you walked. You liked labyrinths, they are not the same as mazes, you just followed the path in and it will eventually lead you back out; no tricks, just a simple journey. The area was teeming with wildlife, the bees buzzed happily around you, hummingbirds and butterflies sipped the sweet nectar from the garden flowers. The colors were vibrant and alive. You even saw echo flowers as you passed by! One began to glow brighter when you approached it. You heard it say something, but you honestly were pressed for time so you didn't stop to hear what it said. 'Later', you thought to yourself. At the center however, was a rather large and in your opinion out of place robot fountain that stood tall and proud in the middle of the English garden labyrinth. Water was spilling over on one side, that location swelling with moist dirt. Strange. You thought. Your phone tinged, notifying that you were ten minutes away from checking in.

Time to go.

You exited out and hastily drove down the were a lot of signs too, you didn't have your contacts in, and so had a hard time trying to read them much to your dismay. You loved reading, and they looked to provide background information about this place. Shrugging, you continued driving. The entrance to the plaza was as spectacular just as well…

But…

A monster!

You never seen one in person, let alone up close. It was a bunny valet, who gave you an inquisitive look, when you drove up before smiling and offering to open the door.

"I'll park your car, ma'dam...You uh, waiting for...uh...someone?"

You smiled, beaming in pride.

Nope.

This one was all on you.

You gave him the keys and adjusted yourself, dusting off your dress and re-positioning your light school jacket. He blinked again, reluctant to move and looked in the car, then, now eyeing you up and down. You weren't sure what he was getting at.

What? Can't a girl buy her own fancy meal without a date?

Eventually he shrugged, you suppose he was just trying to be polite and not prod further. He got into your car and drove off, giving you a numbered ticket for your car.

Walking up to the receptionist, you gave your name, face flushed as you saw another rather slim and primped up bunny monster in front of you. It wasn't like you didn't like monsters! But you never seen one up close before. The monster's feminine appearance outmatched yours, wearing elegant jewelry and plastered with makeup that matched up to an artist's work. Wasn't an unusual circumstance for others to outmatch your beauty in your opinion.

"Alright, table for two, follow right this way ma'am-..."

You were about to correct her, but she stopped dead sentence, her primpy hands moved up to her chin as she studied you. You tensed up, IS IT REALLY THAT BIZARRE FOR A GIRL TO EAT OUT ON HER OWN!? Eventually her shocked expression turned to that of mild amusement and disgust, eyeing you up and down.

Oh no.

It's the dress, isn't it?

You looked sheepish but tried to stand tall. Were you under dressed!? You hated sticking out, and being under or overdressed was a deep rooted fear of yours. But you didn't have anything that nice but still casual. Again, there wasn't a date, you just wanted to treat yourself out as a reward for being a responsible graduated and working adult.

Another monster came by, a, fish? You weren't really sure, but it was rude to stereotype these monsters by connecting them to animals. You tried ignoring the logistics of a fish in a suit, walking, or even being alive on land. Looking around, it was breathless, it was like a nice strip mall, but inside an indoor plaza. The roof glinted from the glass ceiling, light shining through from the nice sunlit day. But it was strange, nothing you saw made any sense. The shops had outfits, knickknacks, and other things that were foreign to you; never really see anything like this before (you were almost sure it wasn't because you were a poor person...almost). The names to many of the stores were rather simplistic and straightforward. Practical, you hummed in delight; "Cloths Store, Phone Store, Fancy Cloth Store, Pet Store, Grocery Store (wait what?), Job Store (...what?), Home Store, Kitchen Store, Pap's Spaghetti Shop Store, Sans Lazy Store, Why are You Still Reading this...Store, Alright Store, Time Store, To Leave Store, The Store Store. "

...

It wasn't until you were seated at your table did you finally looked around...people watching…Oh boy.

You

Were

The only...

Human….

Your face was dusted a pinkish hue, trying to tell yourself it's okay. The waiter came by, looking at first shocked, he looked down at his papers, rereading something and then seemed to have resolution in his face. Recomposing himself he asked politely.

"You waiting for a friend?"

Your heart skipped, that was why everyone was looking at you...? It wasn't because you were single. Or because you were under-dressed. It was because you were human, alone, at a fancy monster restaurant. 'Or maybe you're being incredibly rude! M-Maybe that's not it!' You thought helplessly to yourself, trying best not to just get up and run away.

"N-No! It's just me. I uh, just got a new job a few months back, thought it would be nice to eat out somewhere...new?" Oh god, why did you say it like that!? The monster was taken aback and reread his papers, you thought to yourself just how many humans came here?

"Of...of course! But, unfortunately we do not have any, human food on the menu. You can eat here of course! I'm terribly sorry, we do not get many humans here. Unless they are touring as businessmen...with a, guide. Do not worry though! I, ugh, Hmm...give me a moment."

He hurriedly scuttled away. Your anxieties shot through the roof and you tried to take deep breaths, twiddling your thumbs. This was not going well at all. You looked around, of course, as you expected, your standing out like a sore thumb. Many gave inquisitive glances, some mischievous, but all were warm and inviting. Say, for, the skeleton couple sitting across from you. A tall one, who seemed to be beaming with joy at your presence, when the two of you locked eyes he gave the warmest...smile? How do skeletons even do that? 'Don't be rude! They aren't human skeletons!' You thought to yourself. The other, with mild amusement and curiosity, tipped his head acknowledging you but gave no false pretense that he was not staring...right at you.

You shuffled in your seat, now sweaty hands balled up into fists, clenching onto your dress. Wow, it sure got hot in here didn't it? You wished the waiter had passed the menu to you, so you could at least pretend you were reading at the selection of entries while you wait. You looked down, seeing that at least there was a cup of water to hold onto. Which you promptly did.

The waiter was sure taking awhile to come back to you wasn't he?

You contemplated about leaving, but that would be so rude, not to mention, it cost 40 dollars to just reserve a spot with two weeks in advance! No! You were going to stay here and enjoy yourself. If you were completely honest, you rather be treating yourself at a human restaurant, it never occurred to you that there would be ethnic monster-style restaurants. At least, not so soon!? You probably been down for going to one in the near future, but you just hadn't mentally prepared yourself for this occasion.

The two skeletons got up to leave, the short one downing an entire ketchup bottle before leaving. That was...disgusting. You thought to yourself staring on at that scene, mostly curious about where the ketchup was going after he downed it. Wasn't like he had an esophagus, so was it going down his spinal cord? You kept observing, hypothesizing a thesis on how a skeleton could eat or drink. The monster took notice and gave a wink.

"hey, a picture might last longer." He said with no ill intent in his voice.

You jumped, your face going flush as you quickly looked away. "S-Sorry!" You stuttered out, sheepish at how rude you were being. The two skeletons walked over in your direction, you really wished you were left alone to your stupid anxieties. But the tall one reached and grabbed your hand, shaking it rapidly.

"Nice to meet you human! I, am The Great Papyrus! It's so good to see humans eating here freely! I told you brother! It wouldn't take long before humans started liking us!"

You wished he stop shaking your hand, as you recoiled and jerked your hand back.

That expression; the tall skeleton looked hurt at you retracting so violently, as if you just kicked him. The smaller one suddenly had a darker expression and gave a silent scowl. You suddenly felt like scum on the earth. For some damn reason you felt the need to make up an excuse for your recoil.

"N-Nice to meet you, The Great Papyrus! I just, uh, feeling sick, didn't want you to catch my cold."

The taller began smiling once more.

"No worries human! I am great and therefore in tip top shape! You also cannot possibly get us sick! But I appreciate the sentiment! Excuse me!" He said turning away in confident strides.

The short changed his composure and leaned up against your table, his white pupils staring straight at you, you felt like he was looking straight into your soul. "U-Um could say the same…picture and all." You finally clammered out, his smile grew wider, which only made you more uncomfortable. But he removed himself from his observant stare, shrugging.

"wont bother ya much longer, paps off to pay, just thought i stop to say hello. dont see many humans come here, names sans, sans the skeleton. nice to MEAT ya."

You paused, was that a joke?

When you didn't respond and instead retreated to sipping your water, he gave a discrete but disappointing sigh, shifting himself away from his leaning position.

"welp, like i said, wont bother ya much longer. sea ya later, you won't be mist."

Again, you continued to keep drinking, giving a hurried wave. You weren't sure how to react, all you wanted was to just eat in peace. His smile faltered but he started chuckling. Wait...was there another joke? He waved politely about to walk away but he paused looking through you. Was there someone behind you?

"S-Sorry I'm l-late! It was very short notice...b-but I don't mind!" A nasally voice squealed behind you causing you to jump.

A small, yellow dinosaur-like monster rushed in and sat down beside you. You stared in disbelief before thinking back at your boss and how he rushed to check on you before leaving work today…

That asshole.

"Hi?" You said questioningly, you noticed that the surrounding monsters almost looked disappointed that she had sat next to you, their curiosity dissipating. Most turned away and continued eating.

This made you feel better, at least now you were no longer the center of attention. But this was suppose to be your treat to yourself. Sans smiled, snatching your cup of water away. That's okay, you didn't want your water or anything…

" _ice_ to see you, alphys. but i probably should get going. your friend is pretty crabby, kind of a beach if i have anything to say about it, but i don't think she pinches."

Okay...so he is a joker. You glared at Sans who was shrugging, sipping what was left of your water before handing it back off to you.

"Oh...I _sea_ what you did there" You said, snatching the cup and holding onto it. Quite proud towards yourself and your quick thinking. But he paused, taken aback before his eyes dilated giving an ever so wide grin...Oh boy.

"yesss! your salty pun made me snorkel!

i can't stop gill-gling ab-trout it.

kay, better high tide it out of here before you two drown in misery from my typhoon of jokes."

You were instantly mortified, regretting saying anything that encouraged his charades. It didn't help that you were snorting from laughter at his stupid jokes. Alphys was also laughing up a storm(wink), clearly an inside joke in all of this. He was content; placing a hand on your shoulder and winking at Alphys, his free hand giving a thumbs up.

"i take back what i said, shes a pearl, just a little clammy. just takes time for her to open up hu?"

You gave an exasperated groan. Swinging your hand at him as he sidestepped away from you walking away and pretending to continually shoot you with his hands.

Joking aside, your appetite was lost, you rather just curl up in bed. But you decided to put on a face. Giving up, clearly no point in running away now.

"M-My name is Alphys! I'm the h-head scientist from the underground."

At this you perked up in attention. So it wasn't all just a stupid yet elaborated prank from her boss? Nah, still was a prank.

"O-Oh...nice to meet you!"


End file.
